First Growths Ready to Drink: A Guide to the Mature Vintages

Most First Growths are opened too young. Here are the vintages from our cellar that are ready now, and the ones still worth waiting for.

A First Growth is made to age. Yet most of them are drunk within a decade of the harvest, long before the wine has had the chance to become what its makers intended. The pleasure of a mature First Growth is something else entirely: the fruit has receded, the tannins have softened, and what remains is perfume, texture and length.

There is a practical surprise too. A First Growth with fifteen years in bottle often costs less than the latest release. Today, a 2022 Mouton Rothschild comes to around €660 a bottle in its case; the 2006 is €390. The 2022 Haut-Brion is about €640 a bottle; the 2014 is €320. The older wine is the one ready to drink.

The three estates

Château Haut-Brion was the only estate outside the Médoc to be ranked in the 1855 classification. Its gravel vineyards in Pessac-Léognan, now surrounded by the suburbs of Bordeaux, give a wine of smoke, tobacco and a silky texture that sets it apart from its Left Bank peers.

Château Margaux is the most perfumed of the First Growths: violets, cassis and a fine, almost weightless structure that is easy to underestimate when young.

Château Mouton Rothschild is the only estate ever promoted within the 1855 classification, in 1973. It is also the estate whose labels are commissioned each year from a different artist. The 2006 carries a work by Lucian Freud.

Open now

• Haut-Brion 2007 (€370). A gentler vintage that rewarded patience. Today it is open, savoury and charming. The easiest entry into mature First Growth.
• Haut-Brion 2011 and 2013 (€330 and €340). Cooler years, lighter in build, now at their most expressive. Wines for the table rather than the tasting room.
• The 2006s: Haut-Brion (€490), Margaux (€400), Mouton (€390). A classic, firm vintage that has needed its time. At twenty years it is entering its best period. Decant for an hour.

Open with patience

• Haut-Brion 2014 (€320). Fresh, classically proportioned, beginning to open. Drink from now, or keep for another decade.
• Mouton Rothschild 2011 (€400). Structured and still reserved. Give it two hours in a decanter, or two more years in the cellar.

Keep a little longer

• Château Margaux 2009 and 2010 (€595 and €600), Haut-Brion 2009 (€650). Two of the great Bordeaux vintages of the century. They are rich, deep and still young at heart. You can open them now for their power, but the reward for waiting until the 2030s is real.

A mature First Growth is not about the label. It is the moment a wine stops performing and starts speaking.

The large formats

Wine ages more slowly in a magnum, so a magnum of 2006 tastes younger than a bottle of the same wine. For a table of ten, a magnum of Haut-Brion 2007 (€900) or Mouton 2006 (€895) is the most generous bottle you can pour. For a once-in-a-decade dinner, we hold a single jeroboam of Mouton 2006.

How to serve

Stand the bottle upright the day before. Decant gently, leaving the sediment behind, and serve at 17–18°C in large glasses. Roast beef, lamb and game birds are the classic partners; a simple aged Comté works too.

From our cellar

Every bottle in this guide rests in our bonded cellar in Luxembourg, under constant temperature and humidity. You can collect wines from anywhere in the world and, with your Digital Cellar, always check your bottles and the conditions they are kept in.

A First Growth deserves to be opened at its moment. These are ready for theirs.

FAQ

When is a First Growth ready to drink?

Usually from 12–15 years after the vintage, earlier in lighter years such as 2007, 2011 and 2013.

Which First Growth is the most approachable?

Haut-Brion, for its silky texture, and Margaux, for its perfume.

Should I decant mature Bordeaux?

Yes, gently, to separate sediment; one hour is usually enough.